I love pure math, but I don't know if I should give up on pursuing it

I'm currently in a dilemma between choosing pure math for the passion or doing applied math instead, for the money and a better work-life balance.

I love the beauty of pure math and I want to further advance the field by doing research. As such, I'm considering grad school. However, I'm somewhat deterred after hearing that people in academia tend to be overworked, and pay isn't as great as what is expected from fields in the industry. It doesn't help either that academic positions are extremely competitive to get into. With all that said, I fear that I might have to forego having other hobbies and a family if I were to take this route. In my country, there are extremely few, if any, government positions for pure mathematicians (i.e. no jobs similar to the NSA). Hence, if I want to do a job related to pure math, academia is my only option.

Furthermore, should I choose to go to academia, I don't know if I'll make the cut. While I'm heavily self-taught, I currently don't have a lot of training outside elementary mathematics, and I only started writing rigorous proofs in 12th grade. I heard it's extremely difficult to get tenure, so I wonder if only the brightest of the brightest would make the cut.

Nevertheless, the desire for me to contribute to the field of math, and advance it, is what prevents me from completely dropping my dream to enter academia. Still, I couldn't make up my mind on whether or not to pursue pure math.

I'm enrolled in a major that places heavy emphasis on pure math, which I am about to start on in two months, but:

1. In your opinion, do you think it would be better for me to give up on my goal of becoming a pure mathematician? I have until the end of my freshman year to decide if I should shift to a more applied math course before the curriculum for the two math disciplines start to diverge.
2. To those out there pursuing pure math, what keeps you going? I'm interested in hearing from people who have gone through the same dilemma, given the tradeoffs of pursuing pure instead of applied.

Thank you!

submitted by /u/phi1221
[link] [comments]

from math https://ift.tt/2Z0v9t2 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J